Coye 4.10 (Patreon)

Chapter 10 - Moving Day

Everything regarding Dorothy left a bittersweet taste in Coye's mouth. All that night, he worried about how his words had caused the sudden shift in her mood, and he wondered what he could've said instead to make things better. Still, for as much as his mind raced about his Guild Mistress, there was more he had to focus on. Namely, the Pixie who was more interested in talking about her plans for their new home than she was in providing counsel.

It proved a decent enough distraction listening to her rattle on about this and that, but Shayla had so many plans that it was almost dizzying to hear them all.

According to her, there would be a garden with lots of pretty flowers and delicious berry bushes, and out in the backyard, they would have a tree that bore the sweetest fruits in the entire province of Arrark. Coye asked what fruits these would be, but Shayla hand waved such detail as irrelevant, saying it was more about the idea. There would be a pool for the normal-sized people, and in its center would be a fountain that Shayla could use as a pool relative to her size. That seemed extravagant to him, but her passion was adorable, and he didn't dare express doubt.

Shayla was oddly particular about how much she wanted to prevent Byng from setting up a second camp around their home. She was irrationally worried about ruining the aesthetic of the house she hadn't even seen yet. It wasn't that she thought Byng's camp was ugly, just that it didn't look good in her mind when placed next to her dream house. Something about clashing, she said.

It felt odd for him to act as Shayla's voice of reason, but he had to remind her to keep her expectations in check. Coye tried not to think about how she'd feel tomorrow if everything didn't match up.

When the Pixie became exhausted from listing off her shockingly long list of plans and ideas, it was time to settle into bed for the night. Once there, the two celebrated more traditionally. The sex was as amazing as ever, maybe even more so because of how fired up Shayla was. There was also her residual jealousy built up throughout the day, which drove her to try her little heart out to please the cute boy.

Sadly, all of the sex only excited him more like it always did, and there came the point where he forced himself to stop. He was physically exhausted, as was Shayla. Both had an excellent sleep after the long day's events and the night's activities.

Perhaps because his cock needed a thorough draining, the dreams Coye experienced throughout the night were evocative of recent experiences. Who else but Britni stood waiting for him when he closed his eyes? He saw her there, sitting atop a fancy bed at some high-class inn. She was only wearing the snow leopard print panties and a matching bra, but those didn't stay on for long.

Coye went through one form of teasing after another in his dream, but the bully never gave him what he actually wanted. She would stop shy of delivering relief like it was a sick game. Her hands squeezed him, her tongue slowly lapped up his length, her naked lower lips parting as she slid up and down his cock without actually putting him inside her.

Everything was a hazy blur in that way dreams were, but Coye really had to hand it to his subconsciousness. Aside from letting him get off, it delivered practically everything he could've wished for. Dream Britni did things to him that he never even imagined people did to each other, things he never would have come up with on his own.

It was a shame that he had to wake up in the end, and when he did, he was in for an inconvenient surprise.

He tossed over in his sleep, his cock grinding against the mattress. It sent a searing need running throughout his entire body, making him moan out loud in the early morning. The Pixie in his shirt pocket stirred and was soon awakened by one such moan.

Shayla was well rested, glad to sleep in after they'd woken up early for training the morning before. She stretched out inside her little private world, opened the flap, and pulled herself out. After letting yawning an adorable yawn, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and said, "Mn... morning, baby. Did you sleep okay?"

"Huh? O-Oh. Morning, Shayla..." Coye mumbled. Shayla had a feeling she knew exactly what was happening just from a glance at him. The suspicion was confirmed when she turned her eyes down his torso and saw the throbbing beast hidden behind the blanket.

"Doing okay there?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Y-Yeah," Coye blushed and sat up. "I just had a lot of naughty dreams... that's all..."

"Fun, fun. You know you gotta tell me all about 'em, now. Right?"

Seeing no point in lying, he came clean and admitted, "They were all about Britni..."

Shayla displayed a ticked-off expression. "How romantic. That definitely beats being woken up with a kiss first thing in the morning as you whisper into my little ears how good last night was, for sure. In fact, you should start telling me how much you subconsciously want to fuck bitches who aren't me every morning!"

"Hey, you asked..." Coye defended himself.

"I did," Shayla agreed. "Which is where this next lesson comes into play!"

"A lesson? This early?" Coye could barely even have this conversation without resisting the urge to play with himself and gain relief. He was skeptical of his ability to learn anything of value in a state like this.

"Yes, this early. It's high time you learned that there are sometimes when you're supposed to lie to girls! I don't care if it's me, Byng, Suzette, or whoever, you don't tell a girl you woke up from a ton of sex dreams about someone else!"

"But I'm bad at lying," he frowned.

"That's true, but at least you would come off as trying to make the girl feel special!" She said. Then, Coye reached out and took the Pixie in his hand, surprising her as he brought her to his lips and gave her a small kiss.

When he pulled away, Shayla was blushing and didn't know what to think. "H-Hey! Where the fuck did that come from, you little-"

"Just thought I would make you feel special," he teased with an innocent and knowing smile.

Shayla bit her lip and turned away from him. "Ugh. Fine, I'll give you points for that..." she grumbled. "But only a couple!"

"Okay," Coye giggled cuter than any girl Shayla had ever met and swung the blanket off his body.

"What in Oberon's fancy fuckery-" Shayla's eyes bulged once she saw the swelling Coye had been hiding. "Are you okay?!"

Coye inspected his cock and found that it was slightly bigger than average, in a way that looked painfully swollen. His veins were pumping blood at an even faster rate, making him twitch like mad, and the result of all this extra blood was a crimson color in his shaft tipped with purple upon his crown.

"Oh," he whimpered. "Um... I mean, y-yeah, I feel backed up, but... I think it'll be fine?"

Shayla wasn't convinced. "Well... I guess the sooner we get you out of bed, the sooner we can take your mind off it. Hopefully, Suzette won't mind sneaking in a quickie before you guys start cleaning. I'd offer to make it a little more bearable in the meantime, but..."

"P-Probably not the best idea..." his erection was so prominent and raging that Coye knew better than to try easing it with her body.

"Yeah, oh well. Hurry up and get dressed, baby." Shayla sighed and snapped her fingers, donning one of her many outfits.

Today, she felt like dressing up a little bit. She did this with a cute black sundress with swirling silver trim patterned after blooming roses. The bottom had patterned lace jutting out, and beneath that, plenty of her lovely, thick thighs were on display. The upper half of the dress was particularly tight, tight enough that it clung magically to her skin and made it so she didn't need to wear any straps. The entire piece was held together by a silver sash that trailed behind her like another pair of wings.

After Coye poked his head through the top of one of the shirts Shayla altered for him, he found himself frozen at the sight of her as he blushed.

"W-what are you staring at, dummy?" Shayla put her hands on her hips and sassed at him.

"You look really nice today," Coye said with sparkles in his eyes. "That outfit is really pretty."

Shayla played with the ribbons of her sash to keep her idle hands busy and grumbled, "W-Well, it better be! I worked hard on it!"

The boy smiled and finished getting dressed. He was wearing a simple blue tunic that Shayla stylized by adding a cool white pattern across its sleeves and bottom. Complementing was a pair of black shorts with big baggy pockets and a casual pair of leather boots.

"How's this?" He asked.

"Good," Shayla approved. "You don't want to wear anything too nice since you'll be cleaning a lot."

"About that," Coye scratched his head. "Couldn't you just... you know, magic everything clean when no one was looking?"

"I'm halfway tempted to, honestly, but think about it. Don't you think that would look really suspicious?"

"I guess so," Coye frowned. "It just would've been really convenient."

"Nonsense, a little cleaning would do you some good!"

Coye didn't share the sentiment, but Shayla's enthusiasm was infectious. Even more so than his rampant arousal, Coye discovered he was more excited for today than he was yesterday. It must've finally sunk in now that he was getting a house. A place to call home... and more importantly, where he could have as much sex as he wanted all the time without worrying about inconveniencing other people in the dorms.

After putting on his hat and allowing Shayla access, he was ready to go.

He poked his head to the door, looking out into the hallway. Britni and her Bitches were all Silver-ranked adventurers just like him, and they shared a permanent dorm room together. They'd ambushed him on his way to breakfast before, so he had to be doubly sure they weren't lying in wait anywhere for him.

Strangely, Coye was a little disappointed when he couldn't find them. With the coast clear, he passed by one of the many busy maids and descended downstairs. He'd barely finished the last step before discovering Byng was already on her way through the lounge and headed towards the stairs to come and get him.

"Hey, hey, hey! Just the guy I'm looking to see! Mornin' short-stuff." His lover smiled and waved at him casually. It was far from a dramatic entrance like she attempted yesterday, but seeing Byng was always sufficiently exciting for him.

"Hey, Byng," Coye rushed to her with a big smile. Even if she wasn't as well-dressed as Shayla, she looked adorable in her casual roughspun v-neck short shirt, her pair of stitched-together black leggings, and her furry bear hide vest. "How did everything go with Suzette last night?"

"Pretty good. I slept in a guestroom at her place, actually." Byng scratched her head.

Coye did a double take. "Really? She didn't give you any trouble about the..."

"The smell?" She shrugged her shoulders. "We reached an agreement, and another temporary exception was made." Whatever that agreement was, Coye noticed that Byng didn't seem happy to mention it. She moved on before he could even question her about the details. "Anyways, I'm here to help you pack and carry your shit. Suz had a couple of things to do, but she showed me where the place was before we split up. She should be there by the time we head on over."

"I don't have that much stuff I need help with, but thanks for offering," the way that Byng was smiling compelled Coye to draw closer, and he soon found his arms wrapped around her waist. Once he had, the girl showcased her typical lack of self-restraint by giving him a kiss. To Byng's credit, it was a relatively chaste kiss, but ironically the one time she held back, it did them no good anyway.

"No. Fucking. Way." A bitchy voice sounded out from up at the top of the stairs. Coye and Byng looked up to find Britni staring down from on high, her arms crossed over her chest with one hip cocked to the side. "I had my guesses on who your two alleged cumdumps were, but, like, the smelly Goblin bitch? Yeah, no. That makes a lot more sense now."

Coye involuntarily blushed the moment he laid eyes on Britni. It was early in the morning, so her hair was fully let down, and she hadn't even brushed it yet. It was long, billowing behind her, and so fluffy that it almost rivaled Coco's tail. She was wearing a pair of baggy pink pajamas decorated with Midgardian runes, and on her feet was a pair of adorable slippers that looked like little wolves. One had the sun in its mouth while the other chomped down on the moon. The bully hadn't done her makeup yet, but as much as Coye loved how she dolled herself up, there was no denying Britni looked beautiful in her natural state.

Even as he admired her cute, casual self, Coye couldn't help remembering the vivid dreams he lived through in rapid succession mere hours ago. Their memory was fading as dreams so often did, but more than enough remained for it to feel awkward the longer he stared. Also not helping his anxiety was knowing that Shayla thought Britni was into him on some level, but Coye was doing his best to pay that no mind.

Byng responded to their onlooker with much more direct vitriol. She looked around the room in a comical, over-exaggerated manner. "Hold on a second, short-stuff. Do you hear that, or am I going crazy? Y'know, for a second there, I almost thought I heard the thunderous warcry of the elusive Viking Bitch-Queen! Maybe it was just me," she shrugged her shoulders. "Better to keep an ear out for it, though. They say if you listen close enough, you can hear the dripping sounds of her loose, cavernous vagina!"

Coye became flustered as Byng fired off, desperate to avoid conflict. On the opposite spectrum, Shayla could only laugh and applaud such verbal savagery.

Britni's response was about what one would expect. "Excuse me, you green-skinned slut?! As far as my Gods are concerned, I'm as pure as the driven snow! Fuck off and, like, go craft more of your fart arrows, why don't you?"

The sparks between the two young women were getting worse. Coye knew what Byng was like. If he didn't do something, there would be an all-out war. He walked up a few stairs towards Britni and raised a hand to gesture to her to chill. "H-Hey, we aren't looking to start a fight. You don't need to talk to her like that."

Britni looked closely into his eyes as a quiet scowl stretched across her lips. Everything that transpired the day before was fresh in her mind. She wouldn't go bringing it up, but she hadn't forgotten. "I don't remember asking for your feedback, loser. And where do you get off telling me what to do, huh?"

Rather than dignifying her with a direct response, Coye smartly reminded her, "What does that matter? You said you weren't going to be wasting any more time on me from now on, and yet here you are harassing my girlfriend-"

"Your woman," Byng corrected with an annoyed grunt.

"M-My woman," Coye acquiesced, blushing.

Britni looked embarrassed now that she had been called out, glancing away and pouting like a little girl because she didn't have a good answer. She simply saw the lovers doing their thing and couldn't refrain from inserting herself into the situation.

"Yeah, well, who cares? If you're gonna make out in public, you have to expect people will, like, say something about it..." She mumbled. "Whatever. What's this shit I'm hearing about carrying your stuff to some new place?" Britni asked, doing what she could to hold back her temper so early in the morning.

"I'm moving out of the Guild today," Coye told her.

Britni seemed taken aback. "Wait, what? You don't mean, like... you're not transferring to another Guild, are you?" Although adventurers could work out of any Guild they wanted to, they were occasional opportunities offered by the Association to jump ship and station themselves somewhere specific. She and the Baddest Bitches took one such opportunity a year ago when they responded to a transferral request in exchange for a small, five percent bonus on every quest they completed in the town of Cransmere.

"No, nothing like that. I've just lived in the Guild for a few years and don't see myself leaving this town anytime soon, so... Might as well put down some roots."

"Some roots, huh?" Britni regarded him.

"Short-stuff is saying he needs a place where he can really enjoy all the mad pussy he's been getting," Byng threw in most helpfully, which did nothing to endear the huntress to Britni.

She narrowed her frosty eyes while glaring at Byng. "Careful, Coye. If I were you, I would, like, think twice about sticking my dick in any holes you weren't meant to. I mean, green? Really? Not exactly what I would call a healthy color. Better make sure you don't end up with any diseases."

Shayla was astounded that this bitch would actually say something so offensive and racist out loud, but it was nothing compared to the fury of Byng's reaction. She marched up the stairs behind Coye and was on the verge of ripping out her ordoghite dagger and giving Britni a few new holes for her to worry about.

"Bitch, is that really how you want to play this? Because I'll come up there and-" She growled in a way that suggested that if Coye didn't act fast, he might have to transfer out of Cransmere after all.

Britni didn't flinch at Byng's advance, but she did when Coye closed the distance between them and did his best to look threateningly at the bully. He didn't pass that hurdle, but it was compelling enough. "Look, there's no reason for you to start shit," he told her. "We're just minding our own business, so can you just..."

Coye was interrupted by Britni scoffing. "Wow, I'm really scared. I hope Coye doesn't tell on me! Get real. If you want something, maybe you should, like, try and sound like you mean it?"

Britni didn't think he would actually try and do it, so when Coye did speak more harshly, the bully was taken aback. "Fine. Get out of our way, and don't talk to Byng like that again."

"H-Hey!" Byng blushed and lowered her knife drawing hand. "I can fight my own battles, you know!" She insisted, even though she looked more than pleased to see her man standing up for her.

"Guess this means yesterday wasn't just a fluke," Britni observed with mild interest. "You love to see it." She didn't back down at Coye's warning, instead simply passing them both by on the stairs as she said, "Anyway, my bad. I'm sure that your green pussy is fucking delicious, or whatever. Now excuse this bitch while she gets herself some coffee and a couple pounds of bacon."

Byng was still annoyed, and it was only thanks to Coye's presence that she held back the impulse to trip Britni as she descended. She was mumbling Grurguhrokkan curse words to herself, some of which Coye recognized and had learned, many of which he didn't.

He was positive those were the worst ones.

Just when it looked like she was out of their hair, Britni stopped at the foot of the stairs. "This new place of yours... is it nice?"

"Uh, I haven't seen it yet?" Coye answered with confusion.

"Hm," Britni considered, then left without another word.

'Thank fuck we're not gonna have to deal with that every morning,' Shayla shuttered. 'It's too early for me to handle that level of bitchiness. Maybe I should try this coffee thing you all drink in the morning that makes you more ready for other people's bullshit?'

Coye thought not. He'd already seen what happened when Shayla had too much sodium and the after-effects of her sugar overdose. Her tiny heart would probably explode if she got her hands on any caffeine.

As soon as Britni was out of view, Byng crossed her arms and snarked, "What the fuck is that fargahrk's problem?"

"I'm... not sure, actually," Coye shrugged. "I don't remember her ever acting out this bad."

Byng also couldn't recall a time when the bitchy bully ever shit talked her to her face like that. They both joined the Cransmere Adventurer's Guild at around the same time, so it wasn't like they didn't know each other in passing. It was funny how Britni's attitude towards her changed the second she started dating Coye, Byng thought.

"Whatever," Byng groaned. "I don't even wanna know what found its way up her ass and is refusing to come out. We got stuff to do!"

Coye agreed, and they both went up to the second floor, only to be met with yet another obstacle. Tiph was just standing outside the dorm room the Baddest Bitches shared together, and she was wearing a loose white tank top and a pair of purple sleep pants, her long, green hair tied up in a cute ponytail. It was hard not to look at her and remember Shayla's words of warning, especially considering how she was literally repeating them in his head.

'Ah, shit. Don't even talk to her, baby. Just keep walking! Just keep-'

"Heyyyy, if it isn't, like, my favorite little Squirt," Tiph got all smiley as she shut the door behind her and approached the couple. Byng looked like she was done with this altercation before it even really started. "I overheard most of that. Sorry about her. She's in something of a mood today! More importantly," she turned towards Byng and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Congratulations! You two are, like, sooooo cute together!"

"Thanks," Byng grumbled and took a step away.

"Y-You really think so?" Coye played into her game, unable to help himself at the praise.

"Definitely," Tiph stressed. "Good call on getting your own place, by the wayyyy. You should, like, totally invite me over sometime when it's all set up!"

"Uh-"

'Hell no!' Shayla fumed as she grabbed onto Coye's hair hard as she could, causing him to wince. 'First chance I get, I'm putting up a sign letting everyone know that Mages and Alchemists are NOT welcome!'

"Shouldn't you go and make sure that your big bad boss bitch doesn't start a fight over bacon?" Byng asked impatiently.

"Ugh, you're, like, soooo right. Goddesses know it wouldn't be the first time." Tiph let out an exaggerated sigh. "It's so tough being the one who has to look out for everyone else and keep them out of trouble, you know?" She waited for a response, but Byng was silent, and Coye didn't know what to say to that. "Eh, you get me. Ohhhh- before I go forgetting, don't let her get to you, Byng. Green is a great color." Tiph flipped her ponytail and smiled before disappearing down the stairs after her leader, joining her for breakfast.

Byng wasn't taking any more chances. As soon as Tiph was gone, she grabbed Coye by the hand and stormed into his room, pulling him like a ragdoll. She slammed the door and looked him straight in the eyes as she collapsed against it.

"Fucking Urfathur, gag me," Byng heaved. "I don't know which of them is worse, Queen Cuntbag or that sneaky slimeball."

"Wait. You think Tiph is no good, too?" Coye asked.

Byng seemed to take issue with his statement briefly but dismissed it. "Whoever told you that is dead-on. Never seen a faker bitch in all my life, short-stuff. Just about every word coming out of her purple lips is no good." She grumbled.

'Hah! Sweet, sweet, vindication.' Shayla rubbed in. 'Couldn't have said it better myself!'

"Um, when you call her 'fake,' you mean-"

"I mean that she's full of shit. A liar. Nowhere near as nice as she likes to pretend. You get me, Coye?" Byng gave him a worrying expression. "I don't know why you're making that pouty face, but I wanna be clear so that we're on the same page here. Do you get me?"

Coye tried to not make a pouty face, but he was too confused to help it as he asked, "Not really. How are you so sure? I... I know I'm a little dumb, and it's not that I don't trust you, but I have trouble seeing it for myself."

"I'm so sure because us girls know these things," Byng declared. "Why isn't that good enough for you, huh? Please don't tell me you're interested in Tiph...?" The apprehensive look she gave him was more than enough to put a damper on any hopes he might've had when it came to turning the Bitches into anything more than his bullies.

"I really don't know," Coye hung his head and admitted. "But instead of lying about it and saying no, I figured I should at least let you know I have a lot of thoughts about them right now."

"Did something happen?" Byng cocked her head.

"Yeah," he nodded.

Byng could see her lover's distress, and she took it on herself to grab him by the hand and lead him to his bed. She sat down on it ahead of him and gave Coye a big old smile to show she wasn't mad. Then, she patted the seat next to her. "C'mon over and let's talk about it, short-stuff."

"Alright, thanks," Coye smiled at the love shown to him, glad he had another person he trusted beyond Shayla to share his problems with. Coye sat by her side, and Byng wrapped her arm around his waist at a moment's notice, pulling them closer together.

"There you go, gahaha!" Byng cackled. "So what all happened?"

"Last night, the Baddest Bitches ambushed me before I could turn in the quest. They teased me like they usually do, and it was pretty run of the mill except for… um… how I responded to it..."

"Wait, wait, wait," Byng paused him. "Let me guess. Now that you're having sex all the time, you realized you actually kinda like getting bullied, didn't you? Fuck, don't tell me you went and got hard in front of them?" She cradled her forehead with worry.

'Damn. I don't know if she's just that good at this, or you're just that predictable. Either way, I'm impressed.'

Shame colored his cheeks as Coye's eyes found the ground. "...Geez. You weren't secretly watching me, or you?"

"Not this time," she laughed. "But by the sound of things, I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Coye scratched the back of his head. "But it's not that big of a deal, I think? I don't know. I'm just a little confused and horny over what happened."

"Hey, if it would help you, I'd totally volunteer and give you some bullying sometime," Byng snickered and ribbed him in his side with her elbow. "I bet you I can be pretty mean if I wanted to, gahaha!"

"How much time do we have?" Coye asked. He was feeling daring, made evident by the suggestive way his hand rubbed the soft meat of her outer thigh. "I could probably use some of that right now... It's been a couple of days since we last-"

Coye was faced with something he lacked experience in facing- rejection.

Byng teasingly swatted his hand and scooted a couple of inches away from him. "Nope! Sorry, short-stuff. Suz and I both agreed we would save any and all 'fun activities' until later tonight! Think you can manage that? Don't get me wrong- I'd love to help you, but... I don't want to take my chances with her, you know what I'm saying?"

"Uh..." the boy froze up and stared at his lover.

Byng couldn't help laughing. "You're a little too used to getting your way, huh, short-stuff?"

"N-No," Coye tried to hide it while the Pixie who played a large part in spoiling him rotten remained suspiciously silent. "I can wait till tonight, yeah… that's… that's cool… hahaha…"

"Too bad we don't get to give this baby an old-fashioned send-off, huh?" Byng patted the mattress, which faithfully served Coye for so long. "Ah, well! Come on, let's get a move on. The sooner we do, the sooner we can break in the one at your new place. Sound good?"

"Sounds very good," Coye agreed, getting up and opening the trunk at the foot of his bed.

Byng got behind him with one of the Bags of Holding and held it wide for him to deposit his clothes, adventuring supplies, tools, his budding RealMonster card collection, and a few other personal belongings. He didn't have many possessions, so the process went quickly, but there was some more of his clothing in Guild storage. That meant paying a visit to the front desk before they set off. Coye was hoping for an opportunity to clear the air with Dorothy anyway so that suited him just fine.

Unfortunately, Tammy was on duty, and Dorothy was nowhere to be seen.

"You could at least try and look happy to see me, Killer," Tammy said while not even looking up from the little coloring book she was doodling in. There was a small box of pastels on the desk and one in her hand, and from what Coye could see, she was coloring inside the lines faithfully.

"H-Hey, Tammy. Sorry, it's just-"

"I know, you're just worried about the boss. She's-" Tammy paused her sentence as the tip of her pink pastel cracked off, ruining her stroke. Now, instead of filling in the Mermaid's hair, she had dragged it out past the line and into the ocean.

Her brow wrinkled, and Tammy froze up, disturbed. She stared at the page blankly until she returned to her senses long enough to rip the entire page out, crumple it, and toss it into the bin beneath her desk.

'…Oookay, then?' Shayla said what everyone was thinking.

Coye and Byng exchanged looks, and Byng decided to take the initiative for her socially awkward paramour. "Yo, Tam? You doing okay?" she asked.

Tammy blinked and shook her head, forcing herself to look back at the two. "Fine. It was… outside the lines… I just-" things snapped back into place enough for her to correct herself. "Sorry. Boss is alright, or at least she was when I last checked. She probably just needs some more sleep."

"Hey, am I missing something or what? What's up with Dotty?" Byng asked. Tammy replied by giving the girl an almost imperceptible nod towards Coye, telling her all she needed to know while the boy remained blissfully unaware. "Huh. I'm starting to think that going on an adventure with me was the least exciting part of your day yesterday." Byng commented.

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, short-stuff," she laughed to herself.

"Oh well," Coye shrugged. "I was hoping to see Dorothy again before I left, but that's okay. Can you tell her I'm sorry about... whatever it was that upset her?"

"I guess," Tammy acknowledged in her typical dismissive way. "At the risk of sounding out of character, was there anything else you needed help with?"

Coye told Tammy that he needed the rest of his clothing from Guild storage, and the receptionist got out of doing it herself by calling for one of the maids. Generally, the maids listened to her much better than they did to Dorothy, especially the girl with the fluffy blue hair and the timid personality Coye had seen about the place. Her name was Wiska, and she carefully took the bag as soon it was offered before making her way downstairs, where all the storage rooms were.

"I didn't really get a chance to say it yesterday, but congrats," Tammy said.

"Oh, thanks..." Coye blushed. "I'm feeling more hyped about it today."

'Not as hyped as I am!' Shayla insisted.

"Nice. I have to admit, even I'm a little upset you won't be around as much."

"Wait, really?" Coye asked. He might've expected Dorothy to say something along those lines, but not Tammy.

"What's this, Tam?" Byng grinned a wide, malicious grin. "You trying to make a move on my man?"

'I wonder if she would keep the same old dead fish expression in bed?' Shayla wondered, giving Coye even more intrusive thoughts for him to battle against in his mind.

"Hardly," Tammy performed a deadpan shrug. "It's just that you are starting to get interesting, Killer. I like interesting."

"T-Thanks?" Coye didn't know what to say, but he smiled regardless.

Thankfully, Wiska arrived with all of Coye's stored clothing before things managed to grow awkward. Coye thanked her and the maid left before Tammy could rope her into doing anything else.

"You ready to get out here, short-stuff? I know I am!" Byng declared as she gave the boy a couple of thick pats on the back, almost hard enough to sting. Her enthusiasm was second only to Shayla's.

"Yup, thanks again, Tammy. I'll see you again soon."

"I know," Tammy nodded absently as she picked out a new color pastel and a new page in her book to start working on. She was done acknowledging them, but as they left, Coye could've sworn there was the beginning of a smile on Tammy's supposedly dead fish face.

Before Coye could even put much thought into how cute Tammy looked when she smiled, Byng grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers. She squeezed his palm as tight as she could, and they left out the front door.